STARS SHOOT PAST BARRACUDA, 6-2
Mar 17, 2023San Jose, CA – The San Jose Barracuda (25-29-1-4) entered the third period on Friday tied but would give up four goals in the final 20 minutes as the Texas Stars (32-17-7-3) claimed a 6-2 win at Tech CU Arena.
In the first, the Stars dictated the pace of play and opened the scoring at 19:42 as Rhett Gardner slid a pass to Curtis McKenzie (17) on a two-on-one, and the Texas' captain snapped a shot past Strauss Mann.
In the second, the Barracuda wouldn’t record a shot until 10:16 but it was enough to tie the game as Martin Kaut pulled the trigger from the right wing on the power play and Danil Gushchin (15) tipped it through for his second in as many games. A couple of minutes later, Gardner would sling one on net, going off Riley Tufte (13) and in as the Stars would go back up by one. But, with 51 seconds left in the period, Jeff Viel (15) would steer the puck through Remi Poirier’s five-hole to level the score at 2-2.
In the third, the Stars would explode for four goals, including a tally from Riley Damiani (11) just 45 seconds into the period as he turned and fired a shot upstairs on Mann from between the circles. At 4:31, Tufte (14) would power his way to the net and sneak a shot through the five-hole to make it 4-2. Then, at 15:19, Matej Blumel (19) would swipe in a loose puck from in tight and McKenzie (18) would pot an empty-netter at the 17-minute mark to complete the 6-2 Stars win.
Mann made a career-high 41 saves, but allowed five goals in the loss, while Poirier ended a two-game skid by making 32 saves.
The Barracuda wrap up its home stand on Saturday, March 18 against the Texas Stars (6 p.m.). Saturday will feature $3 beers for Hockey Is For Everyone Night. For tickets and more info about upcoming promotions and specials, visit sjbarracuda.com.